An original full-length theatrical play in three parts, Hand of Jane deals with themes of faith, family and responsibility to the past, and examines human spiritual evolution through the story of a father and daughter, and Jane, a mystical guide loosely based on Jane Goodall.

The process of creating and using participatory photonovels can empower immigrant ESL speaking women and also act as a tool to educate these women about a specific health topic. This was a qualitative case study that was conducted at an immigrant society in an urban center in British Columbia. The ESL speaking immigrant women in this study created a photonovel called From Junk Food to Healthy Eating: Tanya’s Journey to a Better Life. The findings of this research reveal some of the health experiences of ESL speaking immigrant women in Canada. The results also contribute to the growing body of knowledge that discusses effective or ineffective means to educate ESL speakers about health by improving their health literacy. Most notably, however, the photonovel project engaged the women in an educational process that raised their critical consciousness.

In this thesis I defend the argument that the conventional account of recognition as a process of linguistic intersubjectivity does not adequately explain the occurrence of non-propositional appraisals of the recognition experience such as shame and trust. I present an alternative account consisting of two distinct but related ‘moments’ comprising the encounter between self and other: the standard linguistic form of intersubjectivity, which I term the ‘narrative moment’, and an affective and behavioural intersubjectivity that I term the ‘phenomenal moment’. Through a concise analysis of contemporary recognition theories, classical phenomenology, and contemporary empirical research on the ‘phenomenological self’ I conclude that the success and failure of recognition depends in some instances on mitigating the tension between the self’s ‘narrative’ and ‘phenomenal’ appraisals of the other, or what I term ‘phenomenal dissonance’.

This thesis investigates the potential and emerging roles of the Social Economy at the level of global governance by examining how transnational civil society (TCS) has organized in an attempt to influence global policy-making. One of this study’s principal aims is to glean insights into the dynamics of civil society coalitions, gaining a better understanding of how they combine the collective knowledge, resources and strengths of members and drawing out some of the “best practices” and challenges inherent in past civil society alliances. This study seeks to explore the complex nature of the relationships that exist among civil society actors and the unique challenges such groups face in forming partnerships by examining these relationships through the lens of Inter-Group Conflict Theory. A Case Study of one TCS partnership, the Make Poverty History (MPH) campaign, is conducted and an Inter-Group Dispute Resolution Analysis of MPH is carried out.

In this thesis I evaluate the role of Inuit governance in Nunavut's political space. To do this, I critically examine the practice of political consultation, as it is a site where government and Inuit communities interact. This thesis begins with an overview of the government structure in Nunavut and its consultation process. It then shifts focus to discuss the principles and practices supported within Inuit governance. A political and conceptual gap will be revealed. In response to this gap, I introduce and explore the Kitchen Consultation Model, a community based consultation model inspired by the principles and practices of Inuit governance. This model provides Inuit communities with a political framework to support dialogue and interaction within the community, supporting Inuit communities in designing solutions to address their challenges. This thesis ends with a discussion on the role of Inuit governance within the broader Indigenous context

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Ethics) / "Development" has emerged as a key word indicating the level of participation in and integration into the global economy of previously "under-developed" or marginalized countries, especially from the so-called "Third World". Even though decolonial theory contests the validity of what is seen as a particular arrogant Western assessment of the norms at work in such classification of nation-states, it is widely accepted that there is a direct equation between growth and equality: The lower the level of inequality in any country, the faster and the more sustainable the growth in the economy is expected to be. South Africa's dilemma is that it portrays the extreme negative aspect of this fundamental socio-economic formula. The country has a high level of inequality and seems to be stuck in low economic growth! In essence, the current high level of inequality in South Africa results in slow and unsustainable growth in the economy. A healthy development path for South Africa would mean that both economic growth and equality should be sustainably sought. Colonial and apartheid periods elicited processes of planning and development which may have been well-managed and controlled but were fundamentally unjust, being based on stark inequalities, and thus strongly and justifiably opposed. The central focus of this study is to ethically assess the rationale and implementation of the South African National Development Plan (NDP), developed on the basis of the country‘s model new Constitution in order to ensure good quality of life and dignity for all its citizens. The goal of this study is to determine to which extent the NDP is viable in this sense, and can be supported on the basis of a responsible ethical development paradigm, such as Amartya Sen's comprehensive theory of "development as freedom". The relevance of this thesis is that it aims at contributing towards a trustworthy assessment framework for testing all aspects of the NDP, especially its ethical viability.To test the viability of the NDP the study zoomed in on detailed assessments of the following frameworks: 1) Critical historical studies of South Africa's international political and economic development, 2) Constitutional and human rights studies into the constitutional framework of the NDP and its socio-ethical perspectives, 3) Studies on development Theory to identify gaps or suspect aspects of the NDP, 4) Studies on globalization and a global ethic to specifically understand the positive and negative sides of globalization as relevant factors in development discourse in South Africa, and 5) A particular study of Sen's comprehensive development framework to use a theory acknowledged for its comprehensiveness and ethical sharpness to thoroughly assess the strengths and weaknesses of the NDP. Some preliminary findings drawn from this study suggest that the (utilitarian or consequentialist) goals and objectives of the NDP are generally seen as positive and pointing in the right direction. However, the deeper ethical analysis of the NDP, linked to the emergence of responsibility theory, a global ethic (a deontological social ethic for the world), a particular African virtue ethic (Ubuntu), and specifically to Amartya Sen's ethical analysis of the kind of agency and freedom needed by the actors in the drama of development – together - expose various shortcomings in the NDP, some of its goals, its implementation, sustainability, and the new ethos it embodies. The concluding remarks of this study thus provide a number of critical points, ethically spoken, on crucial details of the NDP. Such aspects of the NDP are, for instance, its "utility" (according to the theory which holds that actions are right if they lead to optimum happiness for the greatest number of people); its "morality" (good outcomes or results produced by right actions, consequences which generally outweigh all other considerations); its "virtue" (which focuses on individual agency, morality and duties), but also in typical African fashion, the quality of its "Ubuntu" (the being together of people defining each member of the clan‘s humanity and dignity). Sen's accent on the inner freedom, the agency, of individuals and people, organized in civil society - to support each other, to be open, ready and engaged in their own development - seems to provide some of the missing ingredients for the NDP and its path. Such ingredients cannot be guaranteed or "produced" by human rights, constitutions, rule of law, or even a bill of rights. In the face of state capture, corrupt leadership, personal greed, lack of personal integrity or virtue, disregard for divine commands or human rights, this one factor seems to be the only medicine that works: deep-seated personal agency (of the individual and of civil society), generating strong determination, joint action and a belief of a future commonwealth that does honour the original dream of the Freedom Charter. Hopefully the critical questions emerging from the multi-level ethical assessment of the NDP, may stimulate new debates and set out new research agendas for a just and peaceful future for the "Rainbow Nation". / The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS)

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When educated professionals with a disability immigrate to Canada with their families, they are full of hope. Because they were told that Canada is a land of opportunity, they expect to build on their past careers and become fully employed. Nevertheless, the experience of many immigrant families with an educated adult member with a disability has been long years of poverty and unemployment in Canada. My phenomenological and heuristic study was designed to explore the central research question, "What is the lived experience of Ethiopian immigrant families in Canada in which one adult member is blind?" My study also examined several sub-questions: I-low does the fact that one family member has a disability affect the family as a whole, in their experience as immigrants in Canada? What are the social barriers that the blind immigrant and his or her family have encountered during the experience adapting to Canadian society? What are the strengths and coping mechanisms of the family members? What changes do immigrants suggest to improve the lives of immigrant families with a blind adult family member? Using interviews, I gathered the family experiences of six blind participants, as well as two sighted participants whose partners were blind. All were adult immigrants from Ethiopia. I chose to use methodology that would give participants a "voice" and would allow their own words to be used when describing the findings. Transcripts went through a process of narrative analysis. Data was divided into categories and then separated into themes. Twelve metathemes emerged from data analysis of 323 themes: Comparison of Ethiopia and Canada's treatment of blind people, High Achievement, Persistence and perseverance, Ethiopian expectations about a blind child or student, Social construction of disability, Importance of Advocacy, Unemployment in Canada, Desire to be independent and self-supporting, Personal and family strengths, Importance of social support network, Participants' experiences accessing help from CNIB and employment agencies, and Recommended Government Policy Improvement. The emerging metathemes supported the view of scholars who hold that "disability" is a social construction and is merely a characteristic. Despite "disability", my six blind participants achieved academic education and entered fulfilling careers in one country. Afterward, they endured long years of poverty and unemployment in a second country. The sighted partners of educated blind professionals verified their partners' experiences of poverty and ableism since immigrating to their new country. The two contrasting experiences demonstrated that "disability" was framed either positively or negatively by the social environment in which the educated blind professionals lived and worked. Participants' experiences revealed that Canadian employment agencies lack accountability. As well, employment agencies and organizations for the blind are providing ineffective help for blind people seeking employment. Several participants noted the need for "organizations of the blind, not, for the blind" in order to improve the services of such organizations. In contrast to the stereotype that successful blind people must he special or talented, the study revealed that blind people can become educated and employed in their careers when there is motivation, opportunity, and some small amount of social support. The participants all believe that employment is part of full citizenship. The study revealed that certain personal and family strengths of sighted and blind participants have supported them to stay together as a family and to persist in seeking employment without losing hope. Despite hardships related to long term unemployment, participants continue to live fairly peaceably within their families. Their support for each other within the family, and their persistence and refusal to give up hope was striking. All participants called out for increased activism and advocacy for both Canadian-born and immigrant blind people, on the part of the Canadian government.

This thesis explores how two opposing world views espoused respectively by two social movements coexist within our society. One view holds that humans, non-humans, and all of nature are interconnected and interdependent. Its proponents believe that social justice should, therefore, be extended to all of nature. The other view holds that people are autonomous, independent individuals, each with a fundamental right to freedom from the coercion by others. Its proponents believe that social justice is a means of social control and. so. is incompatible with freedom. Four activists for each of these social movements were interviewed to understand their personal world views and to gain insights on the social implications of the coexistence of their respective projects. While the 'freedom' activists understand nature as being hierarchical and the'eco-social justice' activists deny a hierarchy, agreements between the two groups and disagreements within them suggest a dynamic mechanism for social change.

Some communities through the Japanese islands conduct some ceremonies, festivals, or customs, according to the belief that spiritual beings come from a distant place to bless villagers and go back to their own world. These ritual practices are often embedded in the basic notion in which life (spirit) exists in all forms and the spirit continues its journey between this world and the spiritual world by obtaining different physical forms each time it manifests itself in this world. In this way, an immense spiritual life force exists throughout the universe; this life force exists even within each human individual. In other words, all life forms repeat this cycle, births and deaths; a spiritual self and a physical self are not separated from one another. This notion is often expressed as faith in the marebito in present day Japan. Orikuchi Shinobu (1887-1953), a Japanese scholar in the field of Japanese folklore, introduced this notion through his marebito images presented in his marebito theory in his work, Kodai kenkyu: Kokubungaku no hassei (Archaic Studies: the Origin of National Literature). This thesis does not reflect Orikuchi's influence on Japanese imperialism during his time. The aim of this thesis is to illustrate his marebito images in the context of nature's law or the rule of the universe that has been introduced in the first paragraph. In order to capture his marebito images in this context, the author introduces spiritual worldviews of ancient Japanese, the Ainu people, and the Okinawan people. Through exploring the commonalities of these native worldviews, the author shows the intimate relationship between deities and humans as well as a macrocosm and a microcosm. By interpreting Orikuchi's marebito images in relation to these spiritual views with the utilization of existing scholarly works around Orikuchi's studies, the author seeks a way for humans to understand one another beyond the boundaries of cultural differences.